


Quicksilver and the Avengers

by Blue_Hood



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers Family, Brotherhood of Mutants, Mutant Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-02-04 10:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18602536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Hood/pseuds/Blue_Hood
Summary: For over a decade, no one has seen either Quicksilver or his twin the Scarlet Witch. Then, just as the Avengers are assembled for the first time to deal with the threat of Loki, the silver haired speedster saves them the trouble. How will things change when worlds collide?





	1. Meeting

Just as the Avengers gathered in the Helicarrier, a white blur joined them. Agent Barton aimed his gun as Captain Rogers asked “Who are you?”

Dr. Selvig identified “Quicksilver, son of Magneto.”

Agent Barton asked “Why'd you rescue us?”

Agent Romanoff added “What do you want?”

Quicksilver answered Romanoff “Food.”

Stark snarked “Seriously?”

Quicksilver said “I just ran over water with 2 full grown adults, I'm hungry. I can eat more than 20 normal humans can. Food first, questions later.” He leaned on a chair “Can I sit?” Seeing a nod, he slipped into the seat. All of the agents had put their guns away and a heavy order of commissary food was on its way.

Returning to the threat at hand, Stark said “Loki is still out there, he still has the Tesseract.” The meeting continued on.

Dr. Selvig put Quicksilver's hand on the tray of food when it arrived. The mutant immediately woke up and dug in. Finishing his food, he said “You want to know why I helped you and how I knew you were in trouble. The future of the planet is the future of the planet, it's not like mutants can move to the moon. As for Loki and the Tesseract, they're taken care of.”

Romanoff said “That's not your call.”

Quicksilver said “The end of the world is the end of the world. The cause is overall irrelevant.”

Captain Rogers asked “What did you do?”

Quicksilver shrugged “It's out of your hands. I'm still hungry. Just give me directions and I'll fix my own tray.”

Barton asked “Were you spying on SHIELD?”

“What human organization is the biggest threat to my kind? It's not the US Army or the CIA, it's not Trask Industries or Worthington Labs. No, not normal national security or publicly anti-mutant companies. Who has best chance of hunting us down and hurting us? What was the number on this op, Director Fury? You always have a number of acceptable losses, you have too many guns to say no killing. Do mutants count? How much collateral damage is acceptable to stop doomsday? You'll take a bunch of baselines and a couple mutates but no mutants. We don't matter, all humans hate us.” His rambling had a reason, he used fast-talking to manipulate people. In the stunned/confused silence, he fled on one last sentence “I'll take the Phase 2 weapons and bounce.” As he ran out, he tripped Dr. Selvig by running too close.

The good doctor noticed a note left in his pocket, reading it aloud “Do you always address people by their family?”

Barton said “He's been spying on SHIELD.”

The color drained from Stark's face as he read his note, Captain Rogers asked “What is it?”

Tony put the note back in his pocket “A bet. He wants me to house this team, the Avengers. He bet that he could prove mutant discrimination in my company, called it my house. After Vanko, Pepper helped me clean house to end that abuse of power. We should all check for notes.”

Romanoff shared hers “I got coordinates, a lot of them.”

Fury quickly put his away “Stark, you gonna take his bet?”

Tony nodded grimly “I need to know. Dr. Banner, Dr. Selvig, you are both welcome at my Tower regardless. Agents, Captain, have a good one.”

Steve said “I could use a ride to New York,” following Stark out.

Bruce said “I guess you didn't need me,” heading out.

Erik Selvig stopped him “C'mon, Bruce. I haven't seen you in ages. Let's catch up before you go.”

Quicksilver ran from the Helicarrier to Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, home of the X-Men. He collapsed into an armchair, Logan gave him a tray of food “Well?”

“Is Kurt ready?” Seeing their shared look, he nearly screamed “Kurt's blue! Can't get much more mutant looking than that!” The X-Men knew Quicksilver probably didn't eat or sleep enough during his mission.

They'd been surprised when he showed up on their doorstep wanting help on a plan for unity. Mostly because, as far as the mutant heroes were concerned, the Maximoff twins vanished 2 years after their little sister Lorna died as one of the X-Men, Polaris. He laid out his plan only after they swore to a truce with his father and the Brotherhood, enemies of the X-Men. Magneto and Quicksilver did most of the planning, leaving the X-Men to simply support them.

In the 2 years following Polaris’ death, the mutant family became more ruthless. The rules made by the Brotherhood to protect young mutants, such as the 19 rule prohibiting children from joining, were dropped. Scarlet Witch studied magic to make the most of her gift, embracing the witch within. Quicksilver never killed without a reason in his life. Using Sabretooth's teachings, he embraced torture. Magneto became a militia man, making the Brotherhood the infamous group it is today. For 2 years, the X-Men lived in fear of the impending slaughter. Then the twins vanished and Magneto became more of a schemer than a simple terrorist. The X-Men came to believe the twins had died, driving Magneto to caution.

Over a decade later, Quicksilver showed up with a plan to save the world and bring together human heroes without killing innocents. At first, the X-Men didn't believe he was the real, the original Quicksilver but he knew too much. He simply knew too much not to be the spy skilled speedster. Who else could convince Magneto to help humans?

Back to the present, Quicksilver ate his food while the school staff got their act together and brought Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler up to speed before he was whisked away to encounter Tony on his way in. As he was eating, Quicksilver texted his father. Both Steve and Tony were about to join the pro-mutant side. If two doctors happen to catch a ride with Steve off the Helicarrier and he happens to mention chess then perhaps they will also join the mutant rights side.

Cap's note read: “Meet Max Eisenhardt for chess in Central Park to learn mutant history.” Bruce's note was a business card for Charles Xavier's School, Gifted Youngsters was crossed out and replaced with mutants in red pen. His note had a slip of paper folded over it, Mutant And Proud scribbled over it in case Bruce was asked to share his.

After dropping off Kurt outside SI, Quicksilver stopped to buy a tub of ice cream. He paid with money from the jacket Charles gave him to hide his lightning bolt insignia, knowing that's what the money's for: pit stops. He returned to the school and crashed in his room, sleeping for the first time in a few days. Tony was appalled to see Pepper and Happy assume someone was bad because of blue skin, his reaction to this realization made waves.

Meanwhile outside the chess house, an old man greeted Steve “Captain Rogers.” The elder had a chess set under one arm and extended his free hand.

Steve shook the stranger's offered hand, “Max Eisenhardt?”

Max said “Call me Erik. That other name holds much pain. I see you brought some friends.” Erik Selvig had clapped a hand over his mouth when he recognized the old man.

“Call me Steve.” Looking back at the 2 scientists, he said “Yeah. This is Doctor Bruce Banner and Doctor Erik Selvig.” After politely introducing his associates, Steve's hand went to the back of his neck as he confessed “I'm not very good at chess.”

Erik said “My son thought I could help you with your history and chess is the best cover for conversation. No one pays any mind to an old man playing chess, we will be practically invisible. Follow me.” He lead them to a pair of empty tables, passing the doctors a box “I wasn't sure if Steve would have a chaperone.”

Bruce said “Thank you.” Seeing Steve's confusion, “His son gave you the note.”

“Thank you, Dr. Banner.”

“First name please.”

They laid out their boards, Dr. Selvig muttered “This is surreal.”

Erik smirked and asked Steve “When would you like me to start our history lesson? At what point in history?”

“Well, after the mid-40s I'm really confused.”

“There are some things that aren't in the history books,” a tug on his sleeve draws the doctors’ attention to his Auschwitz tattoo.

Erik speaks for a solid hour explaining his experience in regards to historical events, clearing up much confusion for the man out of time by building on the three humans’ comments. After many games in their first hour together, Erik starts packing up “For mutants history, we need to go somewhere much less public. I need your word you'll keep the location a secret.”

Bruce and Steve were quick to agree. Dr. Selvig said “I'd better not risk it with SHIELD.”

Erik said “That may be for the best. Know this, SHIELD will be undergoing major changes courtesy of my son's meddling. Those changes may very well save the agency from itself.” He walked away with Bruce and Steve following after a moment's confusion.

Bruce asked “What did you mean about SHIELD?”

Erik warned “Be careful for if you speak of the Devil then he shall appear.” Once they were safely in the mutant’s car, he answered “My son had a little sister who may or may not know been my daughter, we will never know. She, along with my son's twin the Scarlet Witch, was taken in a raid on their house a month after she manifested. Their mother was killed in the raid. Though the intruders wore SHIELD uniforms, Sabretooth tracked them to a Hydra base.”

Steve asked “What was her mutation?”

“She and I shared a gift, that little girl died as the X-Man Polaris. Following her death, the twins and I spent two years being the worst versions of ourselves. My son had an identity crisis in which he discovered he'd spent his whole life believing a nickname to be his real name, unwittingly turning his back on his heritage. Now he only uses the name he gave himself.”

Steve admitted “You're not what I expected of Magneto. Just the way Dr. Selvig said your name when he saw your son.”

“My son is the reason I am doing this. He called in every debt I owe him to gain my support in this plan. As he says, the end of the world is the end of the world.”

Bruce asked “What's Quicksilver's story?”

“Shortly after rescuing his sisters, Quicksilver convinced Sabretooth to let him join my Brotherhood. At the time, my lieutenants Sabretooth and Mystique could override my decision. As a rule, no one under 19 could join. When he joined, Quicksilver was merely a messenger. Sabretooth trained him to fight by sparring. Mystique and I taught him to speak many languages, he is currently fluent in every known language. He also mastered currency conversions. For application purposes, he studied foreign histories so he could hold conversations with those in other countries. On our first visit with his sisters, he joked that he was the one in school. Quicksilver used his power to rescue mutants from auctions and fight clubs, sadly both operations still exist. Taking kids to the Xavier school, my son was a hero to mutants before the X-Men got their act together. Following their 19th birthday, Quicksilver picked up his twin sister to join the Brotherhood. Admittedly, visits to the school became increasingly rare over the years. Polaris was no more than 17 when she died an X-Man, soon after joining them. I haven't seen my son since he and his twin sister disappeared 2 years after Polaris’ death, more than a decade has passed. Quicksilver and Mystique learned the spy trade together.”

Bruce clarified “So we've seen more of your son today than you have in a decade?”

“Indeed.” After a long moment of silence, Erik said “Quicksilver has arranged a truce between the X-Men and my Brotherhood. Bruce, you have their card.”

Bruce pulled out his note “Pretty simple trick. A false note containing a crude clue.”

Erik nodded “I know the way. I did, after all, help build the school.” The subsequent questions filled half their journey.

When another stunned silence hung in the air following revelations of the important reasons for mutant battles (such as Sentinels and Stryker), Erik once again broke the silence “My children are greatly underestimated, though I suppose vanishing for over 10 years affects one's reputation. Quicksilver is the most dangerous mutant alive, his gift augments the power of his training just as his training augments the power of his gift. Scarlet Witch is simply the most powerful mutant in history.”

Bruce asked “Who do people think is the most powerful and the most dangerous? You're one of them, right?”

“Indeed, I am. Charles and I are often viewed as the most powerful mutants alive, though one of the X-Men easily surpasses us and so suppresses some of their power for better control. Due to their animalistic natures, Sabretooth and Wolverine are regarded as extremely dangerous, monstrously so. I do not know who is considered the most dangerous mutant, perhaps Mystique for her ability to perfectly mimic anyone.” Debating the question brought them through their journey.

Erik opened the gates with his gift, “Welcome to mutant high, home of the X-Men.” He came to a stop in front of the school where Charles was waiting.

Erik introduced “Doctor Bruce Banner, Captain Steve Rogers meet my old friend Professor Charles Xavier.” Bruce had shown Steve his note with the school's real name on it, both men recognized the invalid's name.

Steve and Bruce shook hands with Charles, exchanging greetings. With Erik following, Charles gave the two a full tour. Even Steve could see that the school staff did not like the truce. They didn't like how Erik could come and go, having been enemies for so long. The tour ended in Charles’ office, away from suspicious staff. Sitting around Charles’ desk, Steve awkwardly started “Let me see if I understood all this mutant stuff. Sabretooth and Wolverine are over 300 years old but mutants weren't really a thing until the 60s when the US and the Soviets were at odds on the edge of war. The X-Men stopped the war in Cuba. You two split on that beach. Over the next 20 years, the mutant population started to really grow and now our 2 species are close in numbers yet humans keep trying to take you out anyway. Do I have the basics of mutant history down?”

Charles answered “You understand much more than most care to know.”

Bruce said “What I don't really understand is the degree of variation to the X-gene. How one gene is expressed in so many different ways, I just don't understand.”

Steve said “That's way beyond me.”

Erik mused “Perhaps that's why your notes do not match.” He suddenly shifted his gaze to Charles, expression sharp “I sense a military plane coming this way.”

Steve's eyes widened “You can sense a plane? I thought you could just move metal.”

“I am a master of magnetism, that includes magnetic fields that enable me to fly. How would I move metal with my mind if I could not detect it first?”

“Point taken.”

“SHIELD,” Charles told them, “They tracked Quicksilver here by spiking some food they gave him.”

Steve muttered “Forgot my uniform.” Speaking up, he asked “Can't Erik take down the plane before it gets here? Or would that just tell them Magneto's here and make them come back more prepared?”

Erik agreed “It's a risk but they're coming for my son.”

Bruce said “No matter what SHIELD is gonna be suspicious of the school. A speedster everyone thought died over a decade ago came here.”

After a meaningful look with Erik, Charles sighed “I must protect my students. I'll ask Ororo to summon a storm.”

Remembering his brief conversation with Dr. Selvig before they joined Steve to meet Max, Bruce asked “Are you sure a storm is a good idea? If Loki is here, a thunderstorm...” he trailed off.

Charles smiled kindly “The storm will be strongest near the plane. Loki is indeed receiving asylum here, I've telepathically broken his brainwashing and am well aware of your concerns.”

Steve glanced at Erik before leaving, Erik followed and the super soldier explained “I'm still playing catch up from a few decades in ice and Bruce definitely wants to talk science. My note sent me to you not here, his note sent him here.”

“What do you know about the notes?”

“Dr. Selvig's asked if he always addresses people by their family. Quicksilver nearly knocked him down as he left, his note was supposed to be shared so we'd find our own. Stark's was a challenge to prove mutant discrimination in his company. You already know what Bruce and I got, that's all I know. I don't even know what to ask to catch up on history. I'm sure I'll still be lost in the modern world but I can't think of questions.”

“Perhaps because it's not history you need help with. You struggle with how advanced technology has become, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“You need help using a computer not the history of computers.”

“Yeah, I do. Can- Will you help me?”

“Yes, I will.” He needed to buy time until his son was ready to see him.

Later, Erik gave Steve and Bruce his car keys as he waited for his son. Steve was hesitant to leave the old man there after sensing the obvious suspicion and disdain the school staff felt toward him. Both Bruce and Erik assured the soldier that he'd be fine. The mutant swore he'd meet them at the Tower if he was threatened and arranged to meet Rogers for another chess date to check in. He told the veteran to make sure he wore his dog tags, implying the metal was special. Bruce vouched for the staff, saying Xavier would stop them from causing trouble. After all that convincing, Bruce drove the Captain to the Tower ‘cause he couldn't be trusted not to turn around and his license was most likely expired if he ever had one.

Settling down with Charles to play chess, Erik teased “It appears you've corrupted my son without coming into contact.” That earned an exasperated smile “But in all seriousness, this plan with the Avengers seems to be more in line with your ideology than mine. Show the humans we're people too, hmm?”

“And yet you play along, why?”

“I would prefer to speak with my son before morphing this truce into an alliance. He remembers my teachings well and has made minimal contact. Up until I see him, ordering my Brotherhood to lay low and helping Captain Rogers catch up is all I will contribute. Steve Rogers knew nothing of what the numbers on my wrist mean, they did not tell him about the end of the war with the Nazis. Basic history, without even mentioning mutant matters, was breaking news. Humans. They were so focused on recreating Captain America that they neglected the real Captain.”

“I do not doubt you could have easily swayed him to your side.”

“My son believes the Avengers necessary.” Without missing a beat, he asked “Loki, would you ever consider joining the mortal heroes?” He kept playing as he awaited the answer.

The alien, who had silently entered the room, was startled by the man's knowledge of his presence. Ever the gentleman, Charles waved to a nearby chair “Come, join us.” His guest quickly took the seat offered.

Loki was a bit skittish, such powerful mortals as mutants made him rightfully wary after his ordeals with other mighty beings. A problem with suddenly breaking brainwashing beaten into a man is in doing so one makes themself master. Charles didn't mean to take Thanos’ place, he wanted to free Loki from enslavement. Perhaps Erik's onto something. If Loki joins the Avengers, they could help him regain his independence. From the original line-up, they were already going to have an alien; Loki could replace Thor. He'd be much better as the Avengers would be his priority not Asgard, he'd be more adaptable to Midgard life and less redundant: Hulk is strong and Iron Man can fly. If need be, Loki could also make a storm or Tony could recreate whatever storm conditions they need. Yes, Loki would do nicely as an Avenger if he so chooses.

Loki seemed to be awaiting permission to speak and Erik was smirking as Charles left his own musing, dropping the mental shields he put up to avoid accidentally projecting to fellow telepaths when he let his mind wander. Charles told the pseudo god “You can make your own decisions. It's your life, your choice.”

Apparently that was permission enough “I do not know what mortal heroes you are referring to, sir.”

“Call me Erik. Sir is a term used on elders, or strangers if you're old fashioned, and we both know you're much older than anybody in this school.” He began levitating the metal chess pieces back into their storage spot, the game long forgotten after Charles’ daydreaming. “By the way, moving metal is my gift. I can feel metal with my mind and make it move like a magnet. Hence the name, Magneto.”

Loki watched him work his magic and he waited for the intellectual alien's inevitable inquiries. As he finished, they came “So your abilities only work on metal?”

“Indeed. Charles’ abilities only work on living, sentient things not unthinking objects.”

Loki finally worked up the courage to possibly speak out of turn, “What do I get out of working with mortal heroes?”

The metal bender answered honestly “I do not know. I assume the Avengers could benefit more from your talents than those of Thor. My son, Quicksilver will most likely join them in their founding. His loyalty is so absolute that it is his fatal flaw as he is quite aware. The joining of these mortal heroes may prove to be mutually beneficial for all involved. In what way, I cannot say beyond I believe my son intends to make the team figureheads for the pro-mutant cause. What you get out of the team depends on you. Quicksilver has already taken measures to make 3 Avengers pro-mutant.”

“Do you think I should join them?” He was asking both of them, not just Charles who he may view as master.

Erik answered “That doesn't matter. We aren't you and this decision is yours. I will, however, help you use Midgardian technology for research. Perhaps I could teach you how to use it if that is what you want.” Loki accepted the offer. Erik told Charles “Perhaps later we could have a proper game.” He showed Loki to a student computer “What do you want to research?”

“The Avengers?”

“Do not exist yet. At the moment, the team is only an idea.”

“The team members?”

“Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Quicksilver. Who would you like to start with?”

Erik made sure to let Loki led the lesson as he had let Rogers’ questions guide his own lessons. Loki took to technology quickly. Once he was fully immersed, Erik moved to the kitchen. Scott caught him “What are you doing here?”

Erik looked up at him “Since you're here, perhaps we could work together on dinner. I'm waiting to see my son for the first time in over a decade. I've kept busy to avoid accusations of ulterior motives that might cause a fight that breaks our truce, thus ruining my chances of a pleasant visit with the son I thought had died shortly after the Battle of Genosha.”

Scott was suddenly ashamed of himself, having been called out and chewed out in one fell swoop “Let's get to work on dinner.”

Loki found them, chatting amicably with a few other school residents, Erik was sitting at the island with a cookbook open. He cleared his throat “Erik?”

The old man turned his attention to the alien, asking “How can I help you, Loki?”

“I think the Avengers might be a good idea. For me to join them, I mean.”

“My son will help with the details, he'll talk to the others about membership for both of you. Stark Tower will most likely be your team's base. Feel free to ask questions.”

Loki sat down next to Erik “When I was researching Quicksilver, all of the information was over a decade old. As I understand, a decade is a long time for mortals.”

“Quicksilver and his twin sister the Scarlet Witch vanished soon after the Battle of Genosha.” Erik could still remember said battle like it was yesterday. The aftermath was almost as memorable as the cause. Genosha promised mutants freedom, an escape from the hostile world. What it gave them was not unlike what Auschwitz gave undesirables.

Erik was pulled from his thoughts by Loki's response “I read about that. Recent reports made it appear to be human soldiers against your Brotherhood. Reports from the time seemed to praise mutants, more recent articles use the battle against you.”

The school staff was not so secretly listening in as Erik explained the truth in that part of mutant history “Honestly, the mutant teleporter Azazel convinced mutant hating humans that he was some otherworldly being and promised them victory. Genosha promised mutants paradise but none who went there were heard from by the outside world. No one cared until inquisitive humans joined hopeful mutants and vanished. The US discovered a sort of martial law, allegedly there to protect the people though in truth the term people only extended to Genosha born humans. The US Army sent a unit of volunteer soldiers to investigate and rescue the lost humans. Soon a battle ensued, the Americans quickly joined my Brotherhood. The surviving soldiers share the same tattoo, a stylized red and purple M modeled after my helmet at the time. They call Quicksilver the Son of M and the Genosha veterans adopted the moniker Sons of M as a collective name.”

“Where did Quicksilver go after Genosha?”

“First he pursued and killed Azazel then he returned to our camp. From there, my children vanished.”

“You know not where your daughter is.”

“That is correct and I cannot wait to catch up with my son. Do you miss Asgard?”

“I cannot return there, I have defied Odin.” After a deep breath, Loki confessed “However, I do miss my foster mother Frigga.”

“Thor was supposed to be an Avenger, the SHIELD Initiative intended for him to be one. But I believe you'd be better suited. Unlike your stepbrother, the team will be your first priority not Asgard or Odin. In fact, Thor is rather redundant.”

Loki smiled “I suppose he would be. With the Hulk and Tony Stark, his strength and hammer are unnecessary.”

Erik and Loki set the tables when Scott said dinner was almost done. Quicksilver came down later to find father waiting, casually conversing with Logan. Of course Logan would not only notice Quicksilver's presence, he'd sell the speedster out. The Son of M piled his tray high and took up the empty seat beside his old man. As he approached, he surveyed the room. Aside from Loki and Logan, most of the table failed to recognize Magneto in their midst which made Logan the scariest mutant in the room to the young students. Maybe the world still saw the helmet not the man. As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Sitting down, the fastest man alive greeted “Hello Father.” Loki nearly choked on the familiar wording before logic reminded him the title is not reserved for Odin.

Erik turned to his long lost son “Looks like we have some catching up to do.”

With those words, they began the long haul. Erik occasionally changed languages, an old trick to pace his son's speech. For the first time since Sabretooth turned savage on him, someone needed to hear his reasons. He has someone with a right to question him, he forgot how that felt. Quicksilver had a much simpler story to share but his came with a gift from the Scarlet Witch, who was now a mom thus making Magneto a grandfather. The gift was a pendant necklace with a red gem in the middle. An enchantment allowed Erik to see his expanded family, making the present a kind of photo album with illusions instead of real-life pictures. After seeing the illusions, he asked “What are their names?”

“Well, all three of them have two. My nephews have William Kaplan Maximoff and Thomas Shepherd Maximoff for American, I mean English names. We use their Romani names since we stay in, well I think it's a Romani settlement. Their father's name was Jonas and he's a bit more complicated. The twins have English names ‘cause they could be mutants since you passed down the X-gene to Wanda and her mutation is so strong.”

Erik cut in “Jonas? What's so complicated about him?”

Nervously, Quicksilver defaulted to German to avoid speed-talking “Jonas was sort of a sentient magical artifact given form so I don't know how he had family or fathered the twins but there was a funeral and family for the wedding.” He shrugged “I saw him die which is how I know he wasn't human, just some humanoid machine thing like a robot. His other name was Vision. Sometimes, Wanda and I call him that when we talk about him. A vision for the future, not sure who came up with it.”

“So I shall never meet my son-in-law?”

“Yeah. You're taking this all really well.”

“I would rather not ruin our relationship further.”

By then the dining room was empty and most of the school's residents were asleep. No one was around to hear Pietro's response “Dad, we didn't leave because of you. We left because we knew we weren't honoring her, our hero sister. Wanda and I needed to get away from our grief-driven rampage. We left without a word because the Brotherhood needs Magneto and you couldn't come with us anyway.”

“Why not?”

“We were reconnecting to our Romani roots, you're not Romani.”

“I understand, Pietro.”

“I love you, Dadneto.” The duo went to the room they'd share when Wanda was a student.


	2. The Blue Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes pro-mutant, without outing himself.

As Tony arrived at Stark Tower, a blue skinned boy appeared behind him. Startled, Happy pushed Pepper behind him and aimed a gun at the boy. Slowly, Tony turned around then looked between his head of security and the boy a few times before deciding on the greater threat "Put the gun away."

Happy said "He's a mutant!"

"Obviously and if he was a threat, I'd be dead. You've threatened him enough." Finding a camera phone pointed at him, Tony said "As a scientist, I do not understand how we can compare a gene to a Glock. Do you know what's genetic? Down's Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington's Disease, Hemophilia. CF is life-threatening,  Down's Syndrome and Huntington's Disease affect the brain. Hemophilia can make a nosebleed life-threatening. Would you choose to have hemophilia? Do you think this boy chose to be blue? It's not a choice so why should they have to register. All sorts of disorders come from genetics, we don't make the people who have them register. Mutants get their abilities," looking at Kurt, he added "And sometimes looks or disabilities," back to the crowd "From genetics not choices. I ask you, one more time, how can we compare owning a Glock to possessing a gene?" To Kurt, "C'mere." Tony Stark hugging a mutant made for a great picture. The billionaire whispered "Quicksilver send you?"

Kurt nodded "Da."

"You're my test then." Tony broke the hug before it became awkward "Know anywhere we can talk? You can come in otherwise, I have a penthouse." Kurt nodded. Tony almost slapped himself "What's your name?"

"Kurt."

"Come on in, Kurt." Tony glared lightly at Pepper and Happy as he guided the boy past. In the elevator, he said "JARVIS, penthouse please."

"Yes, sir."

Looking at the startled boy, "My AI, he moves the elevator, keeps the computers clean, that sorta thing. It's as safe to talk in here as anywhere else in the Tower."

Kurt said "Impressive," looking at the ceiling as most do when they speak to JARVIS.

"Thank you, Kurt."

Tony explained "He monitors the cameras, probably caught me inviting you in by name." In the penthouse, Tony asked some practical questions about Kurt's life as a mutant, testing the waters he just dove into. With promises of support, Tony escorted the young man to meet his friend for a ride home, ensuring no one had a chance to take a shot at him without taking a shot at the billionaire.


	3. Foundation

The next day, Quicksilver had breakfast with his father and Loki. Erik told Pietro “I think you should talk to the Avengers about Loki joining in Thor's place.”

Loki added, “Your father and I discussed the matter while you slept yesterday.”

Quicksilver answered “I'll run to Stark Tower after I finish eating. Shouldn't be too hard to get Loki in, I think they already want me to join. The spies probably want to try to trick me into giving up the Tesseract. I'll just make Loki's inclusion my second condition since I plan on staying a Brotherhood member, if I can.”

After a moment, Erik caught the question “Are you sure?”

Quicksilver nodded “Family comes first, father.”

It was then Erik realized his children only used the word father around others, remembering his son use a childish nickname last night after everyone had gone to bed. He'd often recalled the change to formal address as a result of Lorna's death, a way of distancing themselves from the old days. Now he realized it was a show of respect, just as brother was an address signifying utmost respect when used by Quicksilver. In response to his son's answer, a slightly stunned Erik said “Of course,” as he schooled his face.

The speedster smiled and changed the subject, filling the conversation with chitchat. After breakfast, Quicksilver ran to Stark Tower. He stopped in the middle of the living room where the heroes were discussing how to recruit him, “Sorry to interrupt but if you want me to join I have two conditions.”

Barton asked “How long have you been listening in?”

Quicksilver rolled his eyes “I literally just got here. Are you gonna listen to my conditions? When I came in, it sounded like you were looking for me. I saw how you were looking at Doctor Banner and Captain Rogers, I assume you know they know where I went yesterday.”

Banner asked “Can you stop with the titles and just use our first names? I'm sure you know them.”

Misunderstanding the request as one for his name, Quicksilver explained “Last time I, uh, associated with human Americans I was fifteen. In the week following my mother's murder, I met my father and we raided a Hydra base to rescue my sisters. When my sisters turned up in New York and I didn't, I was declared dead. I've never felt the need to remedy this because I don't need my human identity.”

Steve asked “What are your terms to join us?”

“As you know, my father is Magneto. He is the leader of the Brotherhood, thus I retain membership status. I refuse to give up that status for membership in the Avengers. If I was a member of the X-Men then giving up my membership would be out of the question because the X-Men are viewed as the mutant equivalent to heroes. Notice, I said equivalent because humans never view us as equals.”

Tony said “Alright, alright, mutant-son. Get to your next condition.”

“Loki replaces Thor in the Avengers lineup.” He said simply then explained “He came to Earth to stage an invasion to bring Earth's mightiest heroes together because another alien called Thanos the Mad Titan is trying to wipe out half the universe. He never intended to be victorious, he was putting on a show because the scepter linked him to Thanos so he had to act on the orders he was given. The X-Men’s leader broke the brainwashing with his telepathy. Point is, all ill will aside, Loki is a hero and I think he should be on this team. He was born in Jotunheim, raised as a prince of Asgard. The two realms are sworn enemies. Asgard will eventually come after him, the king did disown him. Since Thor destroyed the Bifrost, getting here and back will be a problem for a while.”

Clint asked “How can you trust him?”

“Nobody really trusts anybody, Clint. Y'know the Hydra agents who killed my mom and took my sisters to be picked apart for science, they were wearing SHIELD armor. So I trust you and Natasha less than any other baseline. Before you even think of getting all high and mighty, look up what caused the Battle of Genosha and look at the records of the battle back when it happened. The Brotherhood saved American soldiers sent to rescue a few humans who went to investigate Genosha, no one cared when mutants were disappearing in droves but a few humans and suddenly it's a crisis. Back off, baseline.”

Steve asked “Why do you call him baseline?”

“He's not a mutant, or mutate like you and Bruce, he's just a baseline human. I call mutants and anyone I respect brother.”

Steve said “Clint doesn't speak for this team as a whole.”

“Some team. If you still want me, you know my terms.”

Tony said “Hold up. We do. Your first term is more than reasonable. We won't ask Nat and Clint to quit SHIELD for us so we can't ask you to give up the Brotherhood, especially with your father. You've made a good case for your second, I think we should put it to a vote.”

Clint voiced his feelings “Are you kidding me? He mind controlled me!”

“Clint, I've been mind controlled at least six times because my father kicked Emma Frost out of the Brotherhood for trying to take over. About four of those six, she didn't know I was his son. Sorry to say you're not special.”

“Six?” Stark sounded surprised.

Quicksilver nodded “Emma Frost, the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, is a telepath. I'm not sure if she's still alive so maybe I should say she was a telepath. Oh and by the way, I have an accelerated metabolism so your grocery bill is gonna skyrocket if I stay here with you guys. Unless you won't accept my terms then you don't have to worry about it.”

Steve raised his hand “You got my vote.” One by one, they all raised their hands.

Tony said “I'm assuming you can bring Loki here.”

Quicksilver nodded and raced back to the school, he told Loki “You're in. Got anything you want to take with you? I got a few things I need to gather up after I drop you off.” Loki shook his head “Alright. I'm going to keep one hand on the back of your neck to avoid giving you whiplash, it's a safety thing.” A second later he stopped inside the Tower, “You okay?”

Loki nodded “I'm fine, just-”

“It's jarring, I know. I mean I don't know because I can't experience it since it's my power but I've been told it's jarring. I'm going to go, see what's left of what I left behind. I know I have a few more speed proofed suits.” He vanished.

Loki looked around nervously. Tony broke the tense silence “Where did you get the new clothes?”

“The X-Men say anonymity is a mutant's first line of defense.”

“So you've been staying with the X-Men?”

“Yes,” he sounded almost unsure “Professor X offered me asylum. What do you know about the threat of Thanos?”

“Never heard of him until Quicksilver mentioned him. He's the one that sent you here, right?”

“Yes and he will come with an army to obtain what I have failed to. He will also have his vengeance for my failure.”

“Let's all sit down so we can strategize how to prepare for this invasion.” Looking directly at Loki, Steve asked “Does Quicksilver already know?”

“I believe so.” They all sat down and Loki began “I shall start with Thor's coronation, the events following lead to your discovery of Asgard's existence and Thanos’ discovery of me.” He recalled his experiences, garnering sympathy.

When he finished his tale, Clint was first to break the heavy silence “Fuck.”

Loki asked “Pardon?”

Quicksilver answered “I believe he's directing the curse towards Thanos.”

Everyone jumped and looked towards him, Bruce asked “How long have you been standing there this time?”

Quicksilver walked toward them “Not long. My mutation makes staying still difficult.”

Tony noticed a backpack “What's in the bag?”

“Everything I own, the bag itself was borrowed.”

Tony stood “Everything you own fits in a backpack.”

“I've been legally dead since I was 15. Kinda hard to own stuff when you've been dead and gone for well over ten years.”

Tony conceded “Fair point.”

Steve asked “What do you own?”

The speedster answered “Speed proof suits. I actually have the prototype if you want to study it, Tony.”

Tony made grabby hands while Steve asked “Why'd you stop wearing it?”

Quicksilver gave Stark a light blue version of his black suit, “I got faster. My old top speed became slow for me. The suit wasn't perfectly form fitting and insulated. Friction built up to dangerous levels, like enough to nearly electrocute someone. There was a bit of a learning curve, it was my first real uniform. I was just happy I didn't have to buy new socks and shoes everytime I ran.”

Tony looked at the suit carefully “So it carries a charge?”

“It needs to absorb or negate the charge of static electricity not zap me with it. My suit has to be form fitting for that reason, friction is dangerous when you can break the sound barrier barefoot.”

“Naturally.” The words registered and Tony turned to him, “Can you really break the sound barrier barefoot?”

“I used to wind up barefoot whenever I ran because I burned through my socks and shoes, I got in the habit of carefully choosing clothes so they didn't catch on fire. Breaking the sound barrier causes a big boom, right? A sonic boom?”

“Yes.”

“Can you break the sound barrier after you already broke it? Without slowing down, I mean.”

“Mach one is the speed of sound, mach two is twice that. You might hear a sonic boom everytime you go up one mach. How many deafening booms have you heard in one run?”

Quicksilver shrugged “Should probably mention I have a slowed perception of time. Sabretooth taught me in training that's a good thing because it means everyone telegraphs their every move. My father made him teach me not to end every fight with a kill. He taught me to fight armed and unarmed, with or without powers in various environments from the Canadian wilderness to a desert ghost town and even in a couple cities. His training doubled as lessons in strategy and helped me learn to lip read later, just from watching an opponent to predict their next move. Mystique and I learned the spy trade together, her shapeshifting and my slowed senses made us perfect for it.”

Steve asked “Why are you telling us this?”

“Some things will have to be custom made for me. I see and hear, I experience things slower than everyone else because I move so fast.”

Tony said “Yeah. I get it. I'd like to study you for that. It'll take some doing but I think I can make your floor speedster friendly.”

“I'm sorry, floor?”

Tony looked up “Yeah, each Avenger can have their own floor in the Tower.”

“Huh? The times they are a changin’.”

“Yeah, ten years is a long time to be away from the world. Speaking of, how did you do it? Disappear for ten years of your own free will?”

“My mother's family was Romani. My twin sister and I decided to reconnect with those roots, we found an isolated gypsy settlement. We've been living there.”

Bruce asked “Why leave?”

“My father survived Auschwitz. Do you have any idea how old that makes him?”

“You left to take care of your father.”

“Yeah, I did. I gotta run, got any cash I can use for a pit stop?”

Tony pulled out his wallet, “Uh, I'm guessing you can't use a credit card?”

“Not with your name on it, I'd rather not get arrested for grand theft Visa.”

“Sorry Q.”

“I'm not a James Bond character. I'll just raid all of your kitchens and pick up some pizzas later, if you place the order. Can you pay when you order?”

“Yeah, I'll do that.”

Quicksilver left the room in a blur. He ran around the planet, raiding mutant auctions and fight clubs like he did when he was a teenager. Stopping at the school, he asked his father “Need a ride?”

Erik smiled “I see you're up to your old tricks.”

“Remember when I mastered Russian by helping a Russian with his English?”

“Yes. I believe Illyana developed a crush on you.”

“Her hero crush was from when I helped her brother escape the Soviets. Does Mutant Town still exist?”

“Mutant Town?”

“Destiny lives there?”

“Ah yes, I believe so.”

“Are you gonna keep this truce with the X-Men going?”

“I see no need to be nemeses anymore.”

“I'm still not super clear on when we went from rivals to nemeses.”

“I believe it was with our response to your sister's death.”

“Yeah. I always want to blame them for involving her before she was 19 but I know we're not faultless.”

“Of course. Let's go.”

Quicksilver nodded, “Let's get away from here before you give me a destination. Might wanna say goodbye to your old friend.”

Erik nodded “Yes. I'll see you at the gate.”

“Wait. I'm going to take care of Sabretooth. What do I do with him after I beat him?”

“Turn him over to SHIELD and give them a power inhibitor.”

“Give SHIELD a mutant power inhibitor while they're still cleaning house?”

“Perhaps you could bring him here.”

“Think they can take care of him, that's a pretty big risk. I guess everything is a risk with him.”

“I will speak to Charles to ensure it is a calculated risk.”

“I'll meet you at the gates.” Quicksilver snagged his jacket and some clothes with the school logo on them. Racing to the Tower to put them in his bag, he asked Tony “Where am I picking up the pizzas after I see my father?”

Tony answered “Don't worry about it. Clint and Steve are doing pick up. What sizes do you wear?”

“Give me some paper, I type too fast for computers. And yes, I've tested with modern technology. Where's my bag? Professor X gave me some money for food. I've arranged a truce between the X-Men and the Brotherhood.”

“Okay. It's in your room on the common floor. Don't worry, Steve wouldn't let me get into your stuff. Bruce put the bag in your room.”

“K.” He put the extra clothes in his bag, glad Tony never looked up beyond a glance his way. He met his father outside the school gates a few minutes later.

Erik said “Tell me more about your plan.” He began walking.

“Uh, sure.” Quicksilver explained why he had to take Sabretooth off the board. Erik told him to give the Lion to the X-Men. Then they worked on strategy, an impending alien invasion and a potential peace agreement with the X-Men was a lot to deal with.

As Erik led him to a safehouse, Pietro offered ideas for the future of the Brotherhood after Magneto's death, broaching the subject by reiterating his refusal to take over or leave the mutant militia. Erik agreed to consider a recruit brought in Quicksilver, granted the candidate could prove themself and gain the support of key members Raven Darkholme, Victor Creed, Emma Frost and the Maximoff twins. Emma and Victor would both be ineligible as successors, Raven would be de-facto if no other could be found, Wanda would only be brought in if absolutely necessary. Erik jokingly suggested Pietro should get into politics, to which his son countered with the fact he was still legally dead. “You really should have that remedied.”

“At my age I'd have to pay taxes.”

“When you were a teenager, you argued that I couldn't be listed as your guardian.”

“Since I've been legally dead for over a decade, that death certificate is great for anonymity. Plus, how would I go about getting my death certificate repealed or whatever? My missing person's file listed me as having brown hair and glasses because I wouldn't wear the hair dye unless I got to mess with the pictures my own way so my last photo had me wearing glasses, before that I wouldn't wear hair dye and dress clothes. I remember Lorna hated the hair dye too so mom had to negotiate with me for family photos. Her natural green hair made her very special but little girls shouldn't have green hair.”

“Imagine if her skin had been green instead.”

“Don't speak ill of the dead, we both know a great necromancer.”

“I don't think that's how the saying goes.”

“I could just run you to the city if you want.”

“I think you should make sure your comrades know of your fatal flaw.”

“I will. Tony Stark said we're all getting our own floors, I'm going to help him with the labor. Is reconstruction after battle still a thing? I mean, if Loki led his mini-invasion like he planned, do you think the Avengers would've helped fix whatever got destroyed?”

“Most likely, Tony Stark would have funded the rebuilding efforts but beyond that, no.”

“Humans.”

“Actually I believe Mister Stark is a mutant, an unknowing technopath.”

“You mean he suppresses his powers, denying any proof he's anything but human? Not that he’s a closet mutant, right?”

“Mister Stark denies his mutation, he does not hide it because he does not recognize he has a mutation. Yes, that is what I mean.” After a few hours of walking, taking the occasional break, they arrived at a suburban house. Quicksilver was glad he'd thought to put a hoodie on when he snagged clothes from the school, the hood hid his white hair. Pietro asked “Is there anything I can get for you? Food? Mystique? Anything?”

“Food, please and lend me your phone to call Mystique.”

“You got it, dad.” A few minutes later, he gave Erik a bag of fast food and his burner cell. “I'll stay with you as long as you need.”

“Thank you.”

When Quicksilver got home after waiting for Mystique with his father, the Avengers were waiting. Clint asked “What took you?”

“I walked my father home from his meeting with Professor X to talk about the truce. Taking care of him is why I came back, Clint.”

Clint held his hands up “It just seemed odd that a speedster was gone for so long, I didn't know.”

Tony said “You know all of our names, we don't know yours.”

“I've been legally dead since I was 15, do you really think I'm giving up that anonymity?”

“It's a show of trust to share your real name,” explained Steve.

Quicksilver responded “I trust you, Loki and Bruce but the rest, not so much. Actually if you're not a mutant and I call you brother, I'm expressing utmost respect and loyalty. My fatal flaw is loyalty so I'm no good as a leader, I'd die to protect those I'm loyal to from pain. I’ve flatlined at least three times since I was 15.”

Tony cut in before Steve could get into a righteous fit “Totally understandable. Most weapons don't discriminate between species but companies do. You never know where the Agents loyalties really lie.”

“Food?”

“Fridge.”

The mutant walked over to the icebox and devoured the pizzas inside. “Thanks.”

“You still hungry? I need an idea of how accelerated your metabolism is.”

“Yeah. Everything about me is fast. I can run fast, talk fast, think fast, my heart beats fast.”

“Your mind works fast, processing sensory information so quickly that time feels slow.”

“My slowed perception of time allows me to steer when I run.”

“Makes sense. Uh, here.” Tony tore page from his notebook and handed it to Quicksilver along with a random pen. “When you figure out clothing sizes, assuming you forgot in the last decade, write ‘em down.”

The mutant wrote down his sizes, “I figured that out when I was with the X-Men to set-up the truce between them and my father's followers. Do you want to just go down to the lab and run some tests?”

Bruce stood “I'd like to do that, if you're okay with it.”

Quicksilver walked with Bruce “Yeah, totally. I draw the line after needles, anything more invasive than some blood draws and I'm out.” Tony led them to the lab.

Bruce said “I can work with that. Do you have an alias we can call you?”

“Beast's human name is Henry and he invented speed proofing.”

“Okay, this is progress.”

After extensive scanning, a few pints of blood and a small demonstration, Quicksilver went to bed. He'd rediscovered that heart monitors break when he so much as moves due to his already super fast heart rate. Tony bounced some ideas off him for his floor. They'd agreed he'd need a lot of food storage but just how they were going to accomplish that was the question. He told Tony that he wanted to help with remodeling. Bruce was more curious about how his mutation worked than what his mutation was exactly. He offered to snag some blood bags from the X-Men but Bruce shut him down. He reminded Tony that he needed cash because he's legally dead when the question of how he was going to afford to take care of himself came up and Tony brushed off with mention of an account for the mutant. Overall, the whole thing reminded him of Dr. McCoy when they were working on speed proofing.

The following morning, Clint went to the fridge only to realize that Quicksilver had eaten everything the previous day. He grumbled “I'm gonna kill that speed freak.”

JARVIS informed him “I must advise against premeditated acts of violence against fellow Avengers. If you are hungry, Agent Barton, I can authorize funds from Sir's account to be transferred to one of yours. Or I can ask Quicksilver to lend you the funds for a grocery run, which would be paid back by Sir so that Professor X can continue to care for his team.”

“I'll take the speedster's cash. Wait, why can't you just transfer funds to Quicksilver's account so he doesn't eat all of our food?”

“As established yesterday, Quicksilver has no civilian identity to open an account under as he has been legally dead for more than a decade. Shall I now wake him so you may ask to borrow funds for a grocery run?”

“Yeah. Wake him up, I'll take Nat's car to the store. I have a key.”

“Very well, Agent Barton.”

A few moments later, Quicksilver sat down across from Clint “Whatcha need?”

The archer answered “Apparently you're the only one with cash.”

JARVIS cut in “I offered to transfer funds into your account.”

Quicksilver looked up “Might I assume you are JARVIS, named for the late Stark family butler Edwin Jarvis?”

“Indeed I am.”

After filing that new information away, Clint focused back on the speedster sitting across from him, “Can I have some cash to restock the fridge? JARVIS said Tony would pay you back so you can pay Professor X back.”

“How much? And Tony doesn't need to pay me back, Professor X gave me the money because he knows how much I need to eat to keep from passing out. A normal heartbeat for you is dangerously slow for me so I have to keep my energy up even if I'm not using my speed.”

“Oh. Uh, I don't know how much I need. How much you got?”

“I have to keep some until Tony and Bruce figure out the grocery bill for an alien, a living gamma reactor, three humans, and me. I’m not sure where Steve falls in the food department, if he's closer to me or you so I'm going to keep some cash just to be safe. How much do you think six humans would need? I can, if needed, use a few tubs of ice cream to make up the difference when I get light headed.”

“Did JARVIS show you my reaction to finding an empty fridge?”

“No. I predicted either you or Natasha would have a negative, non-violent response. I figured Steve and Bruce would problem solve, possibly going through Tony directly rather than JARVIS. Loki might have a negative internal response, he was supposed to be your enemy so he’d see it as fitting. Tony likely wouldn't be the one to find the empty fridge, I assume you had to drag him out of the lab for pizza with how at home he seemed there.”

“Wow.”

“I did explain my mind moves fast, right?”

“Yeah. JARVIS, can you give me an estimate for a two day grocery order? Two days should give the brainiacs time to figure out a more long term solution to the food problem.”

“Most certainly, Agent Barton. If I may, I could directly upload the list to your mobile.”

“Let's not break SHIELD's encryption on day two.”

Quicksilver retrieved the notebook and pen from the previous night, “Give it to me, fast as possible.”

JARVIS’ response sounded like a tape player on rewind to the archer but the speedster made sense of it and that's all that mattered. He flipped back and forth through the two pages twice before writing something at the bottom and running out of room. When he came back, he had a roll of cash, which he set down on the list, and asked Clint “How do you plan on getting all of this here?”

“I didn't realize that half the team needs to eat a lot more than most when I agreed.”

“I'm asking about transportation not round up. Just a sec.” A moment later, he returned with a twenty in his hand “Breakfast money. I could go with you, it'd be painful keeping to human speeds but not out of the question. Maybe you should ask Steve or Bruce. I think they'd love to help. So what are you driving to the store?”

“I was planning on taking Nat's car. Two days didn't seem like a long time.”

Quicksilver returned with car keys “My father's car, I sent Steve to play chess with him in my note so he could get a better understanding of history. Not sure why my father gave Steve his car but here.” Clint took the keys. Quicksilver pulled the pages out of the notebook, handing the list with the cash to the archer. The silver hair asked “Who are you gonna take?”

“Who else is up?”

JARVIS answered “Captain Rogers is currently awake.”

Quicksilver found Steve sitting on his bed staring at the wall “Clint needs some help grocery shopping, the list is long because Loki has to eat a lot like I do. Bruce might need a lot of fuel too. If you got nothing else to do then help Clint. My slow time thing makes me a nightmare for errands I can't do alone but I'll tough it out if you don't want to go with Clint. I gave him my father's car keys, which I believe he gave you.”

“I'll help Clint.”

“Thanks. I gave him cash from my stash, no need to pay me back. He's at the kitchen table, you might have to show him where you parked.”

Steve nodded and left his room, Quicksilver walked down to the lab “Did you get any sleep last night?”

Tony shook his head “I'm an insomniac.”

“So I'm guessing you have the plans for our floors done? Or at least started? I want to help out and Clint just left with Steve to go grocery shopping.”

“Grocery shopping? With what money?”

“I gave them some of my cash, no need to pay it back. Is there anything I can do to help with remodeling the personnel floors?”

“Uh, sure. Don't you need to eat?”

“You're probably gonna be jealous but I can get by on tubs of double chocolate ice cream. I have to keep my energy up so the caffeine and sugar is actually good for me.”

“Really?”

“Accelerated metabolism,” said Quicksilver with a shrug.

“Alright. You wanna help remodel floors for the team? Here's the designs.” He pulled up a hologram.

“Notebook? Pen?”

With a groan, Tony passed the requested items. Quicksilver sketched what he thought the hologram was showing, what the real life finished product would look like. He showed Tony, the inventor's eyes widened, “You're really good at that. Would you mind drawing my designs in the future? I think your work would be more effective than holograms for explaining my work.”

“Sure. Did I get it right?”

“Yeah this looks accurate. I'll show you where the supplies are.” Tony gave Quicksilver a tour of the work site and inventory room. “Are you good to go?”

“Yeah. Make sure to put a few tubs of double chocolate ice cream in the common kitchen freezer?”

“Has to be double chocolate, eh?”

“No but it has to have a lot of chocolate. I just prefer double to regular chocolate.”

“Chocolate chip?”

“Good for a pick me up but a tub of chocolate chip isn't going to complete a meal. Eating light is possible for me but I have to be very careful, make sure I keep my energy up. We have different definitions of eating healthy.”

“Okay.”

“I'm gonna get to work. You need to figure out the weekly grocery list, Clint only planned for two days.” Tony went back to the lab, leaving him to start work.

Taking the project one floor at a time, the mutant tore down the walls that weren't in the new design, exposing the structures beneath to determine what's crucial. “Uh, JARVIS, what am I looking at?”

“The wiring belongs to the Tower's technical systems.”

“Uh-huh. Good thing I was careful in taking down the drywall. Walk me through moving these wires to fit the new design. The walls I opened up aren't in the new design. At least, I don't think they are.”

“Understood. Follow my instructions and we should be able to safely complete this renovation before Agent Barton and Captain Rogers return.”

“I know some things will need to set so let's see how far we can get.”

When the two men returned from grocery shopping, they found Quicksilver eating a bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream. Clint said “You've got to be kidding me.”

Quicksilver explained “I spent the morning starting work on the renovations for our personal floors. Even if I spent the morning just sitting here, I'd still need to eat some chocolate to maintain my speedster metabolism. Do you need help unloading the car? Was it big enough?”

Steve answered “JARVIS directed us to take a van, which is a good thing because no, your father's car would not have been big enough. Yes, we could use some help unloading the groceries.”

Nodding, Quicksilver said “JARVIS, tell Loki to come here.” He explained “Loki could use more exposure to you guys as friends if he's going to be your teammate.”

When the trickster came in, Quicksilver greeted him “Hey Loki. Steve and Clint just got back from the supermarket. Since you, me and Bruce eat a lot, there's a lot to unload. Steve said they could use a hand and I thought this would be a great opportunity for you to make amends with Clint for the whole mind control thing you did to him when you were brainwashed. When they voted on whether to let you join the team, I told them how you were trying to prepare them for the war to come. Now, if you don't have anything better to do, you can bond with Barton your future shield brother.”

Loki stared at Quicksilver for a moment, “Has anyone ever told you that you are a skilled manipulator?”

“I was trained to be, that's a spy skill. So, what do you think about my bonding idea?”

“If you show me where the items that need unloading are, I believe I could teleport them here.”

“Follow Clint.”

Barton led Loki to the garage, rambling “What Quicksilver called a supermarket, most people just call a store. I could help modernize your vocabulary if you want. If you really think we need to make amends then understanding what we say could help. I'm sure Quicksilver wouldn't mind translating what we mean but, you still seemed a little confused. Quicksilver told us about how a woman named Emma Frost used telepathy to mind control him to get revenge on his father, Magneto, for kicking her out of his group, the Brotherhood, before anyone knew they were father and son. That's what sold us, his explanation for how it's not really a big deal for him, it happens or happened and you don't see him turning his back on people. He told us she mind controlled him at least four times before people knew Magneto is his father. I guess he opened my eyes and inspired me a bit. I don't think I can be angry at you without being a hypocrite to what our speedster friend went through.”

Loki confessed “Mutants are mighty mortals, I find their power unnerving. As Quicksilver and the Professor saved me from Thanos, I cannot bear ill will towards them.”

“A lot of baseline humans, ordinary mortals, find mutant power unnerving but most allow that discomfort to become hatred and anger. There's a lot of mutant haters, humans who want mutants rounded up and locked away or at least registered like weapons. I think that if mutant registration laws get passed, the wrong people will get ahold of the list and every time there's a little bit of trouble, registered mutants will get attacked. I guess that makes me pro-mutant.”

“I suppose so.”

“Here we are.” He opened the back of the van “This is called a cargo van. We need to move the bags.”

Loki looked at the cargo, nodded “Consider it done.” He teleported the bags to the kitchen upstairs.

In a second, Quicksilver put everything away “Clint owes me money.”

Steve asked “What? Why?”

“He skipped a few items on the list. Did you guys get any drive thru because I gave him some money for breakfast today?”

“So you're taking back that money?”

“JARVIS made the list not me. Now I have to go grocery shopping myself, that's hell for me. If he didn't spend the fast food money, I'm taking it back. He had the list, right?”

“Uh, we split it.”

Natasha came in “Where's Clint?”

“Coming up the elevator,” JARVIS and Quicksilver answered simultaneously, a second before they arrived.

Natasha nodded to Loki and Quicksilver spun on Clint “You owe me money for the groceries you skipped.”

“You mean the ice cream and junk.”

“That helps maintain my metabolism so I don't have to eat two tons of food to avoid passing out. You had a list, you had my cash because you wouldn't let JARVIS transfer Tony's money, you had one job. You had no right to deviate and you have less of a right to keep money meant to help me maintain my metabolism.”

JARVIS cut in “I would advise you return the money and apologize for your overstep, Quicksilver has been working on the remodeling the surrounding floors to give the Avengers’ personal quarters.”

Natasha said “Tell me what bird brain skipped and I'll go buy it.”

Quicksilver was having none of it “All you had to do was follow the list and pay with my money. What was so hard about that? I told you three people have enhanced metabolisms, three people here have to eat a lot. Tony and Bruce need to run the numbers for long term grocery shopping, follow this list and you can use the money Professor X gave me to maintain my metabolism, don't worry about paying me back, grocery shopping is Hell on my slowed perception. That's what I told you and Steve. I made it super simple and you still messed up. How?”

Clint sighed “I'm sorry. Here.” He gave the money back.

Taking it, Quicksilver asked “Why did you think you had a right to question how I want my money spent? There's money missing. Did either of you follow the list? I put all the groceries away and it seems you did more than skip some snacks.”

“Sorry.”

Quicksilver got his notebook and gave Natasha an updated list “Clint owes me at least $30. You said you'd go get what he skipped, I'll do for you what I did for him and give you exact change for the groceries with a little extra for drive thru.”

“Alright. Thank you, Quicksilver.”

“You're welcome.”

With a nod acknowledgment, Natasha dragged Clint out of the room to talk. Quicksilver shrugged “Kitchen's fully stocked.” He ran out of the room to continue renovating. He was going to have the rooms ready to furnish in a few days, following JARVIS’ instructions. When he finished the top floor of the personal quarters, he'd return to the bottom to work his way back up with the next step of the process.

When Bruce returned to the lab, Tony was working on a training area “Maybe you can help me analyze our team's stats.” Waving to the blue suit “This speed proofing might not be perfect but it's still amazing, I really need to talk to Beast about power proofing.”

Bruce asked “When's the last time you ate or slept?”

“I dunno.”

Bruce sighed “How are renovations going?”

“I dunno. We were out of food this morning when Quicksilver came down to get started on them. He's been working on them all day. Mentioned something about ice cream supplementing his diet so he doesn't have to eat a lot.”

“Really? Tony, you need to eat.” When he got no response, Bruce left to get some help. “Loki, would you please help me get Tony out of the lab?”

“Lead the way.”

Bruce walked up to his friend “You're going to eat and go to bed.”

“Later.”

“You don't remember the last time you ate or slept. Loki is here to help me make you leave if he needs to.”

Tony looked up “Really? Bruce, I'm an insomniac. I'll come up for food if you're that worried.” Loki followed them out.

As they sat down, Bruce suggested “Loki may be able to help with the power proofing for the training area.”

Tony looked at Loki, “Could you? Make our training area able to survive our powers?”

“Perhaps. Should I prepare a sleeping potion to cure your insomnia?”

“Nope. No need to threaten me anymore. Thanks.”

Bruce and Tony talked science as they ate, the former herding the latter to bed afterwards. Loki went back to the lab where Bruce found him, “What are you doing?”

“You want me to power proof the training area?”

“Yeah but I don't think the training area has been built yet. Quicksilver is still working on the basic renovations, the training area will probably come later. Do you need any help with anything?”

“Not really.”

“Your English is pretty modern, I thought you hadn't been on Earth in centuries.”

“The X-Men helped. They had a bit of trouble understanding what I was saying so they taught me translations to modern English when they figured out what I meant, it usually didn't take longer than a few moments but sometimes they had to ask questions.”

Bruce asked “Are those the only clothes you have?”

“Yes, not that it's a problem.”

“No, it is. Even if you're alright with living in one outfit, you'll need a uniform as an Avenger and that won't work for a superhero suit. Besides, Tony's probably going to get Quicksilver a wardrobe anyway. JARVIS, take Loki's measurements and add some clothes for him to the order of clothes for Quicksilver. Colors?”

“Hm?”

“For shirts, what colors do you want? I'm assuming you don't have enough exposure to our culture to be a fan of any band or TV show.”

After some thought, he answered “Green, blue and black.”

Bruce nodded, “Alright. JARVIS has placed the order.”

“Really?”

“JARVIS is an artificial intelligence, he has no physical form yet he runs the Tower and parts of Tony's suit. Would you like to work with me here? Maybe you can pick up some science, I doubt it's very different from sorcery. Our chemical compounds might be the same thing as your potions.”

Given the invitation, Loki followed Bruce around the lab. With nothing better to do, Steve and Clint joined Quicksilver in renovating the Tower. The archer let the super soldier do the talking when they offered to help. At the end of the day, when everyone else was sleeping, Quicksilver continued his work as did Tony. There were few places the speedster could sleep regularly, he needed to move and was always uneasy surrounded by humans in the world at large. Early in the morning, Quicksilver cooked breakfast for the team. Preparing a lot of food for every meal was essential to maintaining his metabolism. He finished cooking just as Steve came back from his morning run through Central Park. “Are the others up yet?”

Quicksilver shook his head “I hope they wake up before the food goes bad. You and I have enhanced metabolisms, we should be able to make a dent.” He finished with a shrug, taking a huge serving dish and making his plate. “Eat up.”

When he sat down at the table, Steve couldn't stop staring “You gonna eat all of that?”

“Then I'm gonna take a nap and get back to work. I think we could be ready for furniture within a week, my next project will be helping Tony customize stuff for my slowed time thing. Make comms that can slow my speech and speed up yours to boost efficiency in the field. Tony just wants an excuse to study me. I'm so glad my super suits still fit, I might give him a spare to reverse engineer just to make sure I don't run out of suits.”

“So you have to talk at a snail's pace for us to understand you, don't you?”

“I don't even notice it that much, just like I don't notice you talking at a snail's pace but some tech will need to be custom made. When I'm running, there's wind rushing all around me and my slowed perception of time isn't slowed, it's perfect but that's when I can't understand normal people talking because even if you're running, you look like you’re standing still.”

“Wow. Uh, okay. I don't know how to respond to that.”

“Did my father cover PTSD in your little history over chess thing?”

“He touched on it. We were mostly focused on the general stuff, the things I missed that he lived through. That and he taught me how to use a desktop computer for the internet.”

“I have PTSD, Steve. I have since I was 15 when armed men raided my house, killed my mother and kidnapped my sisters. I got my first dose of shell shock from that incident, worrying if the people who attacked my family were gonna find me every time I laid down to sleep or stopped to eat. I never really healed but I learned to deal with it. I know a trick that should help you.”

“You think I have PTSD?”

“It’s very common in veterans, which you are. Look, you have five senses right? Taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight. Pick an order, stick with it and count backwards from five. So five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste. When you get a flashback, do that to ground yourself in the present. I think it's an actual technique for dealing with PTSD, like therapists teach it to patients nowadays. My sister taught it to me, we've walked each other through it a few times. She's too powerful to get overwhelmed. Earthquakes to planet breaks kind of power.”

“Ah, thanks for the suggestion.”

“Oh and make sure someone knows, someone you trust to be there and step in before you do something unforgivably stupid should know what's going on in your head. I had my sister, don't know who I'll have next, maybe my father because I trust his judgment more than my own. Goodnight, Steve Rogers.”

“Goodnight, Quicksilver. Wait, it's morning.”

JARVIS explained “Quicksilver has been up all night working on renovations.”

“Oh. He's probably avoiding sleep.”

Steve waited for Bruce to be his person, bringing up the PTSD thing “Do you think he's right about me having it?”

“Steve, do you get flashbacks?”

“I think so, I just thought I was missing my era, missing Peggy as I knew her. She didn't really want me to visit her in the hospital because she knew I didn't age in the ice.”

“Okay. One of the main symptoms of PTSD is reliving the traumatic event, do you do that?”

Steve admitted “My flashbacks are mostly about the crash. Can we do this in your room or something? Quicksilver said I should have someone to step in before I do something unforgivably stupid, his words. I was thinking I'd ask you to be that person.”

“I'll only tell the others if absolutely necessary. JARVIS, keep this from Tony unless I say otherwise, consider it doctor-patient confidentiality.”

JARVIS asked “What shall we call this?”

Bruce decided “Shell shock.”

“Alright then sir.”

Natasha came in with Loki dragging Tony, “What are you boys talking about? And who made breakfast?”

Steve answered “Quicksilver made breakfast before he went to bed and Bruce was helping me with my introduction to the modern world.”

Bruce said “It's a long work in progress but at least I don't have to cover seven decades because Steve is friends with a Holocaust survivor.”

“Yeah, Quicksilver's note set me up with his father. What about your notes?”

“Mine was a bunch of coordinates that SHIELD is looking into.”

Steve proudly told them “Well, Max taught me the basics of how to work a computer.”

Having sat down, Tony asked “What kind of computer?”

Steve's smile fell “Desktop, I understand how to use the internet though.”

“Desktop, eh? It's a start. If you want, I can get you a desktop for your quarters.”

“That'd be great.”

Bruce asked Tony “Did Nat steal my idea of using Loki to make sure you eat and sleep?”

Tony answered “Sure did.”

Loki set a plate down in front of the billionaire then went back to make his own. He piled his own high with all kinds of Midgardian fare after Natasha encouraged him to take as much as he wanted. Clint and Quicksilver were the only ones missing. JARVIS informed the former that “The Avengers are assembling for breakfast.”

As he left his room to join them, Clint said “Assembling, JARVIS? Strange choice of words.”

“Sir's idea.”

“I assumed as much.” He arrived in the common room and sat down next to Natasha, flipping the chair around to sit in it backwards. A glance back showed “Quicksilver really overcooked.” He saw Bruce's plate “Or maybe not. Bruce, Quicksilver seems to think the other guy gives you an accelerated metabolism like his super speed does to him.”

Tony said “That explains the leftovers, he probably made triple what he needs and assumed the other powerhouses would eat half of what's left after he got his fill.”

Bruce got up “I didn't know he made extra for me. Thanks for letting me know, Clint.” He refilled his plate and sat back down.

Tony asked “Where is Speedy?”

Steve answered, “He went to bed after he made breakfast.”

Bruce said “Since we're all here, we can call him Hank if we need to call him something other than Quicksilver. He said the name came from the inventor of speed proofing and I think he's referring to Doctor Henry McCoy.”

“The Mutant Affairs secretary?” After a beat, Tony said “Oh, that actually makes sense. Blue man is pretty old. He was probably already a doctor when the Battle of Genosha happened. Most people only know about the battle as a part of human/mutant history. I really wanna pick his brain about the suit, I'm thinking if I could recreate it then I could use the science as a basis for some really durable armor for the rest of you and a perfect flight suit for me. Quicksilver said he could break the sound barrier but for me to do that I need some specialized shock absorption.”

Bruce said “Okay Tony but let's wait until you finish your current three projects before asking Dr. McCoy about something he made over a decade ago.”

“Right, forgot how old the Battle of Genosha makes Quicksilver.”

Nat asked “What does that mean?”

“Speedy Gonzalez was a big part of the battle, didn't you know that? The Battle of Genosha was the last time anyone saw him before a few days ago. Or I guess that was the last time a human saw him at least. We don't know how long he's been back if he's in contact with his father. JARVIS, how far along are renovations?”

JARVIS answered “Nearly complete. They should be complete by the week’s end.”

“Wow, Hank doesn't waste time.”

Quicksilver suffered through a few tormenting hours of sleep before eating a lunch consisting of leftovers and chocolate bars. Then he returned his focus to the renovations, he'd made JARVIS assure him of two things: warning before anyone made it onto his floor and the security cameras would only be accessed in case of an emergency. While he was technically staying at the Tower, he had run to the X-Men's base to use their post-training showers when he needed one. In fact, his floor was going to have a laundry room. Being made for a speedster, the floor was already deviating from the original design. Tony said he could change the plan to make it to his liking and JARVIS helped him make the changes work. Tony guessed on the other Avengers and he was ready to alter the plans if needed but the two spare rooms on each floor could be repurposed before requesting any further renovations.

Quicksilver took a break to let some things set, he went to the lab “Tony, you should probably ask someone else to do the flooring. I got everything covered except the flooring because I'm worried I'll ruin it as I'm installing it with my speed. Did you ask anyone about their preferences on flooring, cupboards, appliances and anything else we need to put in before they move in? I can redo wiring to move wall sockets and stuff, maybe even alter plumbing since the flooring there is harder to prevent leaks but let's let them design their floors a bit. We're going to need to Natasha and Bruce to figure out what the first aid kits should have. Natasha knows the dangers of the job while Bruce will probably be our doctor.”

Tony said “I'll go up and ask them, give me a list.”

Quicksilver picked up the notebook they kept in the lab just for him, “Since I can't use tech, you should keep these around the Tower. Plus I think Steve might like sketch books, if the whole scrawny art student turned super soldier thing is true.”

Tony said “I'll use a tablet to go over options with them and ask about accommodations they want specially for them.”

“Once everyone is moved into their personal floors and any urgent side projects you have are done then we can work on speed proofing technology for me. That reminds me, how's the training area coming along? Have you at least figured out where it's gonna be? I think that should on the common floor. Again consult Natasha on what we'll need, I have a feeling she'll have insight on the various team members training needs. I know I need serious speed proofing so I can cut loose. Hawkeye and Black Widow might need some kind of shooting range. I don't know what you and Steve might need. Bet Bruce and Loki could both benefit from meditation. Bruce could use somewhere he can cut loose without hurting anyone. I'm sure JARVIS is getting every suggestion down for you which is why I only made one list, your AI will record the answers. Here.” He handed over his list. Tony left the lab in a daze.

Quicksilver turned back to Bruce “We need to make a medical file. I feel the need to tell you, I heal at a slightly accelerated rate but I don't heal instantly like Sabertooth and Wolverine. I know that one of the bones in my legs is backwards but oddly enough I'm not sure exactly how it got turned around like that since Sabertooth did his damage training me and people always target my legs thinking if they can knock me down then they can take me out. I can't say that plan never works but not as well as they think. And I'm rambling, sorry. I can't get surgery to fix anything because of my metabolism burning through meds and what my mutant status means for anything that might involve humans.”

“Alright, JARVIS make a note of the accelerated healing rate and his metabolism's effect on medicine. I'll see the rest in the scans. Run any scan you can on him.” Bruce waved to a table and positioned the machines facing the mutant.

A moment later, JARVIS announced “Scans complete, adding the results to Quicksilver's file now.”

As Quicksilver hopped down, “This team has yet to be established as far as the people are concerned. I'd run to visit my father but he might question the authenticity of this team and my membership if I visit him too much, same with the X-Men and anyone I associate with outside the team, which is a pretty short list I'll admit.”

“You're bored? Why not use your powers for humanitarian aid? You know how to build so build homes for the poor.”

“Good idea. Why didn't I think of that?” With a whoosh of wind, he was gone.

Quicksilver took Bruce's suggestion to heart and did as much work as he could on incomplete buildings in places without many quality buildings, places that seemed poor. He helped wherever he could, moving too fast for people to see. Once he did all that he could, Quicksilver bought a pint of double chocolate ice cream to eat with money from his glove then focused his attention on helping New York. His activities took a few hours, especially with mutant rescues like the old days that required him to slow down to calm said rescues before taking them to the X-Men's safe haven.

When he got back to the Tower, Tony told him “Got their preferences as ordered.”

Quicksilver nodded “I did way too much on way too little food. I'll get to work on it after I eat dinner.”

Tony asked “Are you okay? You sound out of breath.”

“I'll eat dinner and finish renovations then I'll get some sleep so I can be ready for tomorrow. I went over my own preference with JARVIS while testing some wiring for a fire hazard. Fixtures, flooring and furniture go in tomorrow then I can be done with this project and take a real long nap. If I don't do something when I say I'll do it then I forget about it entirely. Now get out of my way so I can eat before I punch you!” He pushed past the billionaire and made quick work of any leftovers before diving into his high nutrient snacks and finishing off with a pint of double chocolate ice cream.

Taking the elevator down to the lab, he sat down with a sketchbook “JARVIS, let me know when ten minutes after up. I need to cool down.” He slowly drew various images he'd seen on his travels both before and after his self-exile. When JARVIS informed him that his ten minutes were up, he gave the book to Bruce “You can ask Steve to color them in if you want them in color, he was an art student before the war.” Quicksilver walked back into the elevator “JARVIS, walk me through the changes to the finished renovations.” He followed the machine's instructions before retiring to his room.

Bruce gave Steve the sketchbook at breakfast the next day, “Quicksilver said you were an art student before the war, he told me to ask you to color his pictures in.”

Steve looked through them, “These are really good.”

Tony peeked over his shoulder “Uh, I think Bruce was referring to the pictures after my blueprints come to life.”

Steve kept looking through and came upon the pictures their speedster drew the night before “I wonder if his time thing helps him with this stuff. The detail is incredible.”

Clint said “Let me see what all this hoopla is about.” The others were really interested now, they crowded behind Steve and agreed with him, “He could make some good money as a reclusive artist.”

Quicksilver shuffled in, yawning “Good morning.”

The fact that he was the last one up was worrying enough. Tony gave him his seat and went to put together a big breakfast for the speedster “I think you overdid it yesterday. We'll put the finishing touches in ourselves.” Everyone nodded.

Quicksilver said “Your grocery bill is gonna go through the roof if I don't pace myself.”

The others froze, Tony barely avoided dropping what he was holding in the kitchen. Finally Bruce asked “Have you not been eating enough on purpose?”

Quicksilver nodded “My appetite grew with my powers. I'm always a little hungry.”

As he started eating, Tony announced “You can have everything in the kitchen. We'll go grocery shopping after we finish renovating our floors.” He stepped out of the room to call Pepper about the speedster's cash allowance and Avengers charge cards, he'd have to wait on Loki's since people from other planets probably don't have the identification necessary for a bank account. He took time to take care of pleasantries before getting down to business.

When the Avengers left the table to get to work, they found Tony flirting over the phone. Bruce steered them into the elevator where JARVIS guided them through their tasks. Loki was still surprised by their acceptance. He was their enemy yet they treated him better than many on Asgard had when he was a prince. JARVIS asked him to set the fixtures, a delicate and somewhat dangerous task as there was the risk of electrocution. Natasha and Bruce were in charge of the flooring with Steve and Clint carrying things to the others. When the quarters were move in ready, Steve and Loki took care of the heavy lifting.

Tony's phone call took hours since Pepper informed him of a contract clause that had to be removed and a potential mutiny from the board. He sat down next to Quicksilver to ask for help going pro-mutant. Together they planned a business pitch to deliver to the SI’s Board, an economic pitch for the shareholders, a press release and a visit to the Tower for Pepper to meet Quicksilver. Then Tony found the Avengers, “Alright, Pepper is going to visit us because most of my Board of Directors attempted a mutiny when I went pro-mutant. I just finished working on damage control without going back on my decision. Not to mention, our employee contracts have something that is definitely anti-mutant. Also I'm arranging charge cards for everyone except Quicksilver and Loki because we can't put codenames on credit cards and Loki isn't a US citizen. Which reminds me, you're gonna need a human name so we can get you legal rights. I just wanted to put that all out there before you bit my head off for being lazy and not doing my part.”

After a moment of stunned silence, Bruce asked “What are you gonna do in place of charge cards for Quicksilver? I'm sure he'll need money to maintain his metabolism.”

“I'm going to figure out how much money he needs and arrange an automatic withdrawal of that much money to give him in cash. I think we should all undergo the same testing you did on Quicksilver, the medical scans and blood draws so we'll be prepared if something happens to any of us on a mission when we start avenging. I understand Quicksilver probably needs different medical care because his mutation makes him far from a baseline so we'll need more than just a pint of his blood, right?”

Bruce said “I guess so.”

“I think we should also get tested for the X-gene if you can do that. I did a little digging on the science of mutants and scientists believe that men carry the X-gene and pass it down. The gene may be dormant for the father's whole life yet his child could still manifest a mutation in adolescence. There's also a supposed data dump on something called Sublime, allegedly it's a parasite in all humans that the X-gene kills off in mutants and causes humanity's hatred of mutant kind. I'm not sure if it's real but it would explain something I saw after Afghanistan, I'm going to look into it. Anyway, I think we should all be tested for an X-gene. If even two of us are carriers, it'll help the mutant rights movement later.”

Steve asked “What's the mutant rights movement?”

“For decades mutants have been fighting for basic human rights. Meanwhile human politicians have been fighting for mutant registration like the X-gene and a gun are the same thing, a part of your DNA is totally like something you can buy from a pawnshop. I tend to stay out of politics but maybe if I'd been treating this particular issue like a scientist instead of avoiding it as a billionaire then I wouldn't have such an uphill battle. I could've looked at SI contracts, caught the clause and removed it long ago.”

Steve said “The important thing is that you're doing something now.”

“Do you need any help here or can I make a few more calls and get working on a precedent for mutant rights?”

Steve said “Work on the mutant rights, we got this.”

Tony nodded and went back to commons room. Sitting down on the couch, he started calling foreign contacts, starting with the most neutral countries. He relayed stories of mutant fight clubs that Quicksilver had shared when Pepper mentioned the contract clause that required employees who developed enhancements to submit to medical testing for their own safety and the safety of others. Most of his contacts who were on the fence found these stories from his mutant contact suitably horrifying and vowed to push mutant rights. He mentioned he'd be contacting lawmakers in other countries so they wouldn't be alone in their fight and promised to share a list of on-board countries when he was done making calls. Tony called every political contact he had outside the US then sent them all an email, listing countries, with each lawmaker’s name encrypted so as to avoid the blame game. All together, he spent almost the whole day making phone calls. Standing up and stretching, he turned around to see the Avengers talking to Pepper. The counter space was covered in a mountain of pizza boxes, along with various types of takeout and a huge bowl of salad. Tony walked over to the table “How long have you been here?”

Pepper laughed “Tony, I know how oblivious you can be when you're in the zone. Do you know how many times I've had to drag you out of your workshop?”

“Countless,” guessed Tony. The billionaire went over to the kitchen and fixed himself a plate before rejoining the table. Rather than get another chair, Clint just found another piece of furniture to perch on.

Tony started eating and just watched them talk. Pepper really liked the team, that was good. She even put Loki at ease, that'd be a downright miracle if Tony believed in those kinds of things. Everyone got along great. Quicksilver must've finally eaten enough for his metabolism because he was being really friendly, not the fake kind of friendly that people always are around the rich and powerful. Huh? Tony guessed that mutants could make up most of the powerful category if they were treated with human decency and not like they were born to be weaponized.

As Tony started actually listening to the words, he heard Quicksilver telling a story “Polaris couldn't control her powers a lot, I don't think she ever learned to control them to their fullest extent. She threw a knife at someone, mighta been me or herself. Anyway just as it was about to hit, the knife split. It took us a bit longer than it should've to realize Father made the knife split and float around before returning to its original shape. I'm not sure if that happened before or after Colossus helped me master Russian, the man was born on a Soviet collective farm. When he manifested, they wanted to weaponize him. They killed his parents and leveraged his little sister, if I remember right. His little sister actually had a hero crush on me for years. My little sister stuck to my twin sister so much she didn't have a lot of friends so I asked Colossus’ little sister to be a friend to my little sister and completely missed the reason she did. Wait a second.” He raced out of the room and dug through the boxes of stuff Charles (the pack rat) Xavier kept from way back when. He found framed family photos from before and after he joined his father. Returning to the table, he showed them the pictures “Mom made me and my little sister dye our hair for family photos. I don't know who was levitating the camera in the one with Father. He taught all three of us chess, he'd tell my sisters to practice against the Professor. I remember he used chess to give me an escape from my training when Sabertooth was just tormenting me not actually training me. I'll admit I'm out of practice but it's still one of the best things I can remember.”

His happy expression turned somber “If I was born just ten, maybe twenty years later then I wouldn't have had the same great man for a father. If you take the events in my life, set them back five years and make me about two years older so I'm not ten when the home invasion happened then my father would have refused to be my father because the loss of his wife and daughter would've been too fresh. Funny, my birth was in a way perfectly timed.” Quicksilver grew quiet, keeping himself from breaking apart through every technique he knew. He needed to divert attention away from him but all he could think of was the basic law of sacrifice: a life for a life.


	4. HYDRA

When Nick Fury walked in, Quicksilver almost muttered a thank God before focusing on the one eyed super spy. He swiped the file out of the man's hand “Got it.” He sped out of the room and hit all of the targets, the locations he gave them. Popping back in, he said “I need to borrow Bruce and Tony, the scientists not their alter egos.” The two stood and Quicksilver decided now was as good a time as any to explain safe travel with a speedster. “Stand next to each other, I'm going to cradle your necks so you don't get whiplash.” Once they were in position, he ran them to a Hydra base “I already cleared the base. I just need you two to help thaw him.” He pointed to a cryo-chamber “Inside that is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, known as Bucky to Steve Rogers and more recently as the Winter Soldier to the intelligence community. Given SHIELD's recruitment of a Black Widow, once the most deadly assassin in the world, I don't trust them with our brainwashed super soldier here. I need you to safely removed him from stasis so I can take him to the Professor for treatment.”

Tony said “Alright, got it.”

With a nod, Quicksilver handed Bruce a stolen gun “Keep this in case someone enters the base while I'm moving the unconscious agents.” He ran to the Tower “Director, what do I do with the unconscious hostiles? Should I take them to the Triskelion or try our luck with the local police who might view me as the bad guy with public sentiment against mutants?”

“I'll give you the location of a detainment facility.”

Quicksilver gave him a notebook “Write it down, I've cleared all enemy bases.” Director Fury jotted down the address. Quicksilver nodded, ran around until he found the place then evacuated all of the unconscious agents from the various bases. He sat down at the table with the team, munching on some celery “Done. I'll give the brainiacs time before I check in.”

Director Fury made a phone call in the hall before coming back in “You do good work, Quicksilver.”

“I could kill Sabretooth if you ever want him dead. I have the ability, my father's permission and everything.”

“I'll keep that in mind. Just what did you need Stark and Dr. Banner for?”

Quicksilver looked at Pepper “Doesn't Tony have multiple PhDs? Wouldn't that mean they're both doctors?”

Pepper said “You are correct.”

Quicksilver nodded and looked at Fury “There was some strange science stuff and I wasn't sure what it did. Better safe than sorry. I left a few pistols within arm's reach in case anyone attacks them.” Fury nodded and left, not buying it but willing to let it slide with how many enemy agents were delivered.

The mutant left after devouring a few pizzas and everything already on his heaping plate. He ran back to the base where he left his two teammates just in time to see the cryo-chamber opening. He almost wanted to slip an image inducer on someone, finding a familiar face couldn't hurt. He helped move the man into a chair then retrieved a razor, shearing the soldier's mane down to a more manageable length as Dr. Banner gave him a basic examination. Tony asked “Why are you doing that?”

Quicksilver explained “It helps separate the two identities. Sabretooth used to let his hair grow into a mane when he stopped pretending to be a person. He probably still does. Maybe you should add a new prosthetic arm to the end of your to-do list, put it on the end of the list to buy time to break the conditioning before letting SHIELD know we got him in the raids.” Once he was done, he disappeared with the razor then came back with a pair of scissors and a comb. Bruce kept the soldier's attention with questions, which were answered in a mechanical fashion that made Tony's discomfort level shoot through the roof. In the end, Quicksilver stood up from his crouch beside the soldier's chair “I'm gonna be honest, I'm too out of practice to move someone so heavy. I'm gonna call the X-Men so Wolverine can take him. The main problem is we don't know any of his triggers, for memories or missions. It's a risk but so was releasing him.”

Tony said “Right, right.”

“I need you to hack into SHIELD and loop anything they're using to monitor this place.” Tony turned to the console as Quicksilver continued “I'll go talk to the X-Men. Bruce, do you need anything to help check him out? Something from the infirmary?”

Bruce answered “I think I've done all I can.”

Quicksilver nodded and raced to the institute, coming to a stop in front of the Professor “The Winter Soldier is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, brainwashed and kept in stasis. He's too heavy for me to move at superspeed, his metal arm probably plays a role in that. If I give you the location of the Hydra base I found him in, can you send Logan to help now? No telling how long until Fury tries to secure the base.”

With scant a raised eyebrow, Professor Xavier calmly answered “Yes, I will send Logan now.”

Pietro wrote down the base's location and gave it to the Professor “I'll get Tony and Bruce out of there if it helps.”

“I'm not sure that will be necessary.”

Pietro nodded “Send Logan ASAP. Tony needs some information on speed proofing before we can start training as a team. I'm thinking about giving him one of my spare suits but that probably won't help him build custom tech like a communicator or training equipment. I don't think he has much of a basis for power proofing. Maybe you could point me in the right direction so I could give him some of Hank's notes, he invented a lot of power proofing.”

“I'll consider it but first SHIELD must finish cleaning house.”

“Of course. You already sent Logan, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Wanna play some chess? I'm out of practice.”

Charles smiled kindly and nodded, moving toward the chess board. He'd missed the opportunity to have this kind of relationship with young Peter, the kind he'd had with his father and sisters. Once Logan returned with Doctors Banner and Stark, Quicksilver joined them downstairs. He kept his distance, unable to be of much help and unsure as to whether Dr. Stark could be trusted to keep the location of the X-Men's safe haven a secret. After Bruce moved Bucky to the infirmary, Quicksilver retrieved Professor Xavier “I know you don't have a uniform so we'll just have to trust Tony Stark to keep quiet when he eventually figures out who you are which gives away the base's location.” He shrugged “For now, I'll trust him about as far as I can throw him which is a lot more than I trust the other two. Barnes needs your help, that outweighs any mistrust.”

“Let’s see what we can do.”

Pietro followed him down “If things keep going the way they're going then you're gonna get very good at breaking brainwashing.”

Charles liked to see Pietro relax “Have you told them your real name?”

“I barely trust them to keep the location of this place from SHIELD. Of course I'm not giving up my anonymity until they all earn my trust.”

Charles felt himself once again mourning the loss of innocence that turned a 15 year old happy-go-lucky boy he knew into the man he was with now. Quicksilver showed him to the infirmary “I almost think the hangar would've been better to stay in but I don't have 300 years of living experience to guide me unlike Wolvie. Sergeant James Barnes, Doctors Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, this is Professor X the world's most powerful telepath and founder of the X-Men. He will break the brainwashing as gently as possible, given consent from Sergeant Barnes.” With a sigh, Quicksilver rephrased “The Asset must give consent to undergo the operation.” He finished with a grimace knowing Barnes wouldn't refuse with it phrased like an order.

James Barnes nodded. When nothing happened, he said “Consider it given.”

With an equally regretful sigh, Charles put two fingers to his temple and said “I assure you, I will make this as painless as possible.” Barnes nodded.

Quicksilver retrieved a binder “Hank kept his notes organized. I don't technically have permission but here ya go, Tony.”

Flipping through the binder for a few moments, Stark said “Thanks. Are you sure it's okay for me to have this?”

“Does it cover speed proofing?”

After a few more moments of reading, Stark nodded “Looks like it and more.”

“As long as you keep the information out of SHIELD's hands then you can have it. You need an in depth scientific understanding of mutant powers that I can't give you if you're going to outfit me. Not to mention that only half the team are baselines.”

“Yeah, you're right but are you sure it's okay for me to have this?”

“If it wasn't okay to share, it would be secure with other super sensitive stuff. I found it in storage near where I found my family photos.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“I'm guessing you understand what you're reading. I kinda took a shot in the dark on whether that was relevant or not.”

“It is. It's a good starting point with your old blue suit.”

Quicksilver nodded and looked around before saying “I'm gonna do some more of that humanitarian work you suggested Bruce.” He raced out.

Bruce explained “He was bored, waiting for some work he did to set. I didn't think he'd make it a hobby.”

Logan snorted “Quicksilver rescued me from the Weapon X program on a whim. He was visiting his sisters here, went on a run looking for some mutants to rescue. Weapon X put the metal on my bones and brainwashed me for missions. Kid saw me during a mission, he got his father to cover our escape. Sabretooth had to hold Magneto back so he wouldn't go charging into a warzone. Quicksilver showed up a few hours later and Dr. McCoy dragged him down to the medbay. I believe you, Dr. Banner.”

“Bruce.”

“Logan,” the Wolverine offered his hand “Not my real name but I prefer it.”

Bruce shook his hand “Do you think we should tell Steve that Barnes is alive?”

“Well, Rogers was here so he might see Barnes either way but no, I don't think you should for two reasons. One, the super spies are likely to hear about it and I don't think we need another scare like the tracer in Quicksilver's food. Two, Barnes needs to recover before he can handle a familiar face. The early stages of treatment are make or break time, you could just as easily take control of the victim as break the brainwashing. In my case, I had conditioning coupled with memory wipes. The Professor is doing a thorough psychic scan to see what Barnes’ case looks like.”

Tony asked “Rogers was here?”

Logan nodded “Magneto called a ceasefire when his son returned.”

Bruce nodded “He also taught Steve to use a desktop.”

“Ah, so there's a desktop somewhere here.”

Logan verified “Upstairs but for the sake of anonymity, you're not allowed out of this room without an escort.”

“Anonymity?”

“Is a mutant's first line of defense,” finished Professor X. “I believe we will be able to help Sergeant Barnes. Logan can drop you off near the Tower.”

Logan nodded “I'll drop you off in a nearby empty building.”

Stark closed the binder and set it on an empty bed then followed the other two out. Quicksilver came back just as the Professor was pulling out, the telepath explained “I have removed some of the conditioning. Would you like to stay here to continue your recovery?”

Quicksilver clarified “You're asking if he wants to do therapy here? You trust him around the children?”

“He is no longer susceptible to his trigger words.”

Quicksilver asked the man in question “What do you want to be called?” He took a chain off his neck “These are your dog tags from the Second Great War, the information on ‘em is probably still accurate.”

The man looked at the tags “James Barnes, that's my name?”

After glancing at the telepath, Quicksilver answered “Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, known as Bucky to his childhood friend Steve Rogers. You haven't been yourself in a long time. Is James what you want to be called?”

He nodded “Yeah. I, I know some of what I did. I-”

Quicksilver cut him off “We'll get you a lawyer to work on your case. You're going to be okay, James. I want you to write down everything you can remember, not just missions. Your lawyer is going to need to know everything you can tell them. They'll figure out how to get you a fair trial, not just a quick execution. Alright? We won't force you to go with our plan so I need to know if you want to stay here.”

James nodded “I want to stay here and go with your plan.”

Quicksilver nodded “Professor Xavier will show you around, I'm gonna head home. Okay?” James nodded. “Quicksilver is my preferred name.” The speedster ran back to the Tower.

Pepper asked “Done with your humanitarian work?”

“Yeah. Is Stark Industries good to go pro-mutant?”

“I think so.”

Quicksilver noted Ms. Potts’ efficiency.


	5. Notes

Tony Stark - **Bet I can prove your house has a mutant problem. If I win, you house the Avengers.**

Steve Rogers - **Meet Max Eisenhardt for chess in Central Park to learn mutant history  
**

Erik Selvig - **Do you always address people by their family?**

Natasha Romanoff: a series of coordinates.

Nick Fury - **Your house has a serpent problem.** The HYDRA octopus was crudely drawn under the words.

Bruce: a business card for Charles Xavier's School, Gifted Youngsters was crossed out and replaced with mutants in red pen. A slip of paper was folded over it with Mutant And Proud scribbled on the paper.

Clint Barton:  **You see better from a distance.**


End file.
